Tories and Labour both ‘peddling fantasies’, says Blair
Tony Blair, the former prime minister and the last Labour leader to win a general election, has given a withering assessment of both main parties in his first significant intervention of the campaign. Describing British politics as chaotic, crazy and “utterly dysfunctional”, he said that both main parties were “peddling fantasies”, and that he did not want either of them to form a majority government. He was particularly critical of Boris Johnson, saying that he had no chance of negotiating a Canada-style trade deal with the EU before the end of next year and that if Johnson was telling the truth about not being willing to extend the Brexit transition (admittedly, quite a big if, given Johnson’s record when it comes to Brexit extensions), then a no-deal Brexit was the “probable outcome”. Blair said:
No-deal Brexit is not off the table. It is slap bang in the middle of it and if they mean their manifesto commitment to no extension past 2020, it is the probable outcome.
Blair implied people should vote tactically for remain candidates. But he did not formally endorse any non-Labour candidates, and he confirmed that he would be voting Labour himself. Alastair Campbell, his former spin doctor, was expelled from Labour for saying he voted Lib Dem in the European elections, but Blair sounded determined to stay a member of the party so that he can participate in the debate about its post-Corbyn future that he suggested might start quite soon.
Lib Dems say Johnson’s record of lying makes him unfit PM
The Liberal Democrats have sought to make Boris Johnson’s character flaws an election issue, with Chuka Umunna, the party’s foreign affairs spokesman, saying Johnson’s record of lying and using racist and bigoted language makes him unfit to be PM. Umunna used the argument in a speech in which he argued a win for Johnson would be victory for Trump-style, rightwing nationalist populism. The reception Johnson has received on some visits, and the response he encountered on Question Time on Friday, suggest that for some voters his integrity is a critical election issue. But that does not necessarily mean the Lib Dems, or anyone else, will be able to use arguments like this to shift opinion within the next two and a half weeks. Andrew Gimson, author of a biography of Johnson, has argued that attacks on Johnson’s probity are likely to fail because “voters can allow – or not – for a candidate’s frailties, and may prefer to be led by a prime minister who does not pose as a pillar of rectitude.”
Johnson shrugs off criticism of nurses pledge
Boris Johnson has dismissed criticism that his manifesto promise to deliver 50,000 more nurses is bogus because this figure includes staff being retained, saying without government action there would be 50,000 fewer nurses. Speaking at the launch of the Welsh Conservative election manifesto, he claimed that Wales was closer to China than New Zealand is. Showing uncharacteristic concern for factual accuracy when making an outlandish claim in an off-the-cuff speech, he asked someone to check that this was true. He was told it was true. However, as various people have pointed out on Twitter, he was missing the point.
Rather, he was missing two points.
Meanwhile
A poll for ITV and Cardiff University has shown Labour up nine points in Wales since the start of the month. Over the same period the Conservatives are up four points, the poll suggests.
The government has announced plans for a slimmed-down Queen’s speech on Thursday 19 December, as Boris Johnson has said he would want to push through his Brexit bill as soon as possible if he wins a majority.
Stormzy is among a number of musicians to throw his support behind the Labour party and called on people to register to vote to “end austerity, rebuild our communities and take back the means to change our lives for the better”. He did so in a letter to the Guardian which you can read here.
The leader of Welsh Labour has backed Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to remain neutral in any fresh referendum campaign even though the party in Wales has pledged to fight for remain.
And the BBC has claimed it made a “mistake” in editing a clip where it cut out an audience laughing at Boris Johnson, insisting the decision was made due to time constraints rather than political bias
Sign up here to receive Andrew Sparrow’s election briefing direct to your email inbox every weekday.
If you’re using the Guardian app and would like a daily alert to Andrew Sparrow’s election briefing, click here and select “get notifications”.
